Family News
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During the decade in which Florence received her training at the London Hospital and served as a nurse in WWI, her extended family grew. There were some sad losses as well. By the time of the 1920 U.S. Census, Esther had three children, Ruby (April 1908), Kenneth (February 1914), and Eileen (September 1916). Esther's husband, Arthur, died in December 1918 in the Influenza Epidemic. Esther was also struck with influenza, but she recovered. Esther and her children lived in Cuba, Illinois.
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Joe and his wife Minnie had three children, Dean (December 1908), Donald Leslie (1912) and Warren (October 1914). Donald Leslie died in 1913 at age 1, before Warren was born; Florence is buried next to Donald in the Cuba Cemetery. Joe lived in LaHarpe, Hancock County, lllinois, and was employed as a clergyman with the Union Church in 1918 when he registered for the draft. His family was not enumerated in the 1920 census. Stephen married Nellie Leona Casburn on October 11, 1917. They lived in Ellsworth, Illinois and Stephen was employed as a minister in the Methodist Protestant Church in 1918 when he registered for the draft. In the 1920 census, he and Nellie lived in Canton, Illinois, and he was employed as a clergyman there. Sadly, Nellie died in February 1920, five months pregnant. She and her unborn child were also victims of the Influenza Epidemic. Stephen returned to England in September 1920 and stayed for eleven months. He was in England when his father died in April 1921, returning to the United States in August 1921. |
Cousin Godfrey Cooper married Edith Alice Powell on November 17, 1917. Edith grew up near the village of St. Weonard's, about 15 miles northwest of Upper Lydbrook. Like Godfrey, she lost her mother when she was a very young child. At the time of their marriage, Godfrey was working as a collier and living at Worrall Hill. We will have to wait for the release of the 1921 England and Wales census in a few years to learn where the newlyweds lived after they married! |
Dollie continued to work in Gloucestershire and Wales for Dr. Williams when Florence was studying at the London Hospital. Dollie visited the United States in 1916 (during WWI), arriving shortly after her niece Eileen was born. Eileen and Dollie share the middle name Blanche. While visiting her brother Steve in Ellsworth, Dollie was interviewed for the local newspaper and gave an in-depth account of life in England during the war. While in Cuba, Illinois, visiting her sister Esther, Dollie met and fell in love with Thomas Meek, whose parents hailed from the Forest of Dean. They married in October 1917 and their son Leonard was born in October 1918. Dollie and her family lived in Cuba, Illinois at the time of the 1920 census.
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After the war, Florence lived and worked in Gloucestershire until she moved to London, where she secured a government position with the school medical service. Her father died in April 1921, and her move to London probably happened shortly thereafter.